Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Wow - 2 posts in 1 day! ... and here I thought I wouldn't get much crafting done this week. WRONG! Thanks to a poorly pup I've been home most of the day making sure the door is open for poochy when *nature calls*. Poor Koda - he was up half the night with *issues* ... I leave it at that! He seems to be on the mend today so we are going ahead with our plan to head out to Drumheller tomorrow to go to the Tyrell Museum and check out those dinosaur bones! I'm pumped! Hopefully Mom will manage dog-sitting and Koda will just sleep all day.

No time to ramble ... have to get the kids to bed early for our big day (it's a 3 hour trip both ways ... and it's scheduled to be 28 degrees!) ... so right to it!

I had 20 minutes to play while the girls were outside so popped down to my happy place with a burst of creativity. I've had this card in my head for a few days now and it came together REALLY quickly. Check it out:

Bang on what I pictured! I love this wreath ... its from the Holiday Mini (live Thursday!) - page 34 for the low, low price of $14.95 (wood only). I stamped it it Gumball Green. I then used my Owl Punch (page 183 - $22.95) to punch out the berries in Raspberry Ripple (I used the medium circles from the punch). I also punched 3 berries from the Silver Glimmer Paper (page 156 - $5.95). I attached the berries with glue dots (a girl's best friend when it comes to small pieces like these!). page 174 - $5.95. The sentiment is from Greetings of the Season, which isn't pictured in the catalogue but HAS been carried over from last year. This is a MUST HAVE Christmas set! It is $14.95 in clear; $19.95 wood. I stamped it in Early Espresso. For the finishing touch I added some Early Espresso 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon (page 173 - $6.75). The Whisper White front is matted with a Raspberry Ripple layer, on a Whisper White base. That's it! 20 minutes from start to finish ... and that included fiddling with 3 different sizes of berries and 3 different ink color for the berries. Total assembly time would be under 5 minutes. My kind of Christmas card! My next order will be going in August 15th. Contact me via e-mail or order direct through my on-line store at www.tamarabertram.stampinup.net.

Right! I'm off to bellow (again) at the children. Until next time ... have a stampy night!

As promised, today I want to share with you the card that you can create using the Merry Little Christmas Simply Created Card Kit that is on page 27 of the Holiday Mini. The mini goes *live* August 1st ... which is already on Thursday!!! Wow - what happened to July??? Anyway! This kit is AWESOME - I'm surprised at how much nicer it is in person than in the catalogue. The colors just *pop*! The kit is $11.95 and includes all the basic supplies to create 8 cards and lined envelopes. The stamp set, ink(s) and adhesive are not included. If you would like to purchase the stamp set that is shown, Merry Little Christmas; I would suggest buying the two together - you will save 15% if you do. The bundle is $21.95 clear; $24.95 wood ... but it's a great little set that you can use on other projects - WELL worth the money! I'm planning on purchasing a number of the kits and making them up to give the girls' teachers for Christmas - at $11.95 it's VERY affordable!! So ... here is the card:
.

LOVE it! ... it IS a standard sized card ... it just looks a little squished due to my lack-of-photography skills *lol*. The colors are Coastal Cabana, Real Red and Gumball Green. See the lined envelopes?? LOVE them!!! The liners are included in the kit ... but being ever-frugal ... I couldn't justify using the whole liner ... so I cut it at 3 1/2" and ended up with 8 pieces of designer card stock to use on other projects:

Liner just add that great little finishing touch that makes your card so much better. You NEED to get the envelope liners that are coming out in the mini! Check them out on page 38 - $32.95 for 3 different sizes ... I'm FINALLY going to start chipping away at that stash of DSP I'm hoarding!!! ... but I digress! ... back to the project. The main sentiment is stamped in Real Red - the stripe underneath is Gumball Green and the flourish on top is Coastal Cabana. The little red button is attached with a glue dot and the pre-cut bakers twine is also attached with a glue dot (after I first made a bow).

That's it! A cute little project that only took me half and hour to make ... and now I already have one Teacher Gift ready to package. Yay me! That's it for now. Until next time ... have a stampy day!

Monday, July 29, 2013

I can't believe it's Monday already! Where are the days going?? It's obvious we're on holidays - one day just blurs into the next ... and it's great! I wake up every morning with no clue what day it is! Heck ... on Saturday I had an argument with Craig and the girls as to what day it was. Alicia asked if it was Satruday. I said no, it was Friday. It took them 5 minutes and a calendar to convince me that it was, in fact Saturday!! I lost a whole day somewhere! *lol* ... I'm taking that as a good sign - one that I'm relaxed ... and not senile!

We're planning on heading to Drumheller on Wednesday as the weather is reported to be 22 degrees. That's the best day of the week, according to the forecast. Today was another sketchy day, weather wise, so it was play dates and crafting time for me :)

The card I have for today literally takes 2 minutes to create ... well ... 2 minutes for an ORGANIZED crafter! It actually took me closer to an hour. Why? Because I couldn't find the washi tape I was looking for. After searching for 10 minutes I wasn't even convinced I would USE the tape I was looking for but it became the principle of the thing for me! I ended up cleaning, sorting and organizing the chaos that was my desk ... and I STILL couldn't find it - I was going NUTS looking for it!!! I finally gave up, stole a little strip of it from another card ... and then, as I was reaching for a stamp set I spotted it ... tucked willy-nilly on top of a stamp set. No where NEAR where it was supposed to be! So it took me an hour to create my 2 minute card ... but at least my desk is nice and tidy *lol*. So ... without further adeau I give you my 60 minute-2 minute card:

Hee hee. I love this stamp! It was the main reason I bought the set. It's "Giggle Greetings" ( page 29; $20.95 clear; $27.95 wood). When I saw it I immediately had the card planned in my head. Disgusting as it is I invisioned splotches from the Gorgeous Grunge set (page 109; $21.95 clear; $30.95 wood) to mimmick the loveliness that cats yack up when they get a fur ball. Hee hee - yes, disgusting but funny! The splotches are in Smoky Slate and Calypso Coral. The cat is stamped in black Staz-on and colored/hilighted with a blender pen using the same inks. I added some washi tape from the Epic Day This and That selection (page 171; $6.50 for 3 rolls) ... and yes, the gray is the one that went missing :). The thin little strip of grey is not washi tape ... I took that from the self-adhesive strips that came with my Tag a Bag Accessory Kit (page 158; $9.95). It's actually the strip BETWEEN the *main* strips. It added just a fun little contrast to the other two tapes.

That's it! A cute, quick, disgusting little birthday card to give to someone *of a certain age* ... who has a sense of humour!

Thanks for popping in. Come back again tomorrow when I'll showcase the AWESOME Merry Little Christmas Simply Created Card Kit found on page 27 of the Holiday Mini. This kit is GREAT and is available starting this Thursday, when the catty goes *live*. Until then ... have a stampy night!

Friday, July 26, 2013

This just in!!! I'm hoping I didn't upset you all TOO much by mentioning in yesterday's post that the holly stamp from Cheers to you was retired set *lol* ... WELL! I'm thrilled to announce that I had the wrong set!!! The holly is from the Happy Hour set; page 36 of the main catty; $26.95 clear; $36.95 wood. Phew!!! Thank you fellow demonstrator Cathy Gray for pointing that out. Now I can resume my happy demeanour!

Thursday, July 25, 2013

No time for one of my epic posts tonight ... I SHOULD be packing for our day trip to Sylvan Lake Water Slides tomorrow morning. Alas ... my craft room was calling ... and who am I to deny the calls of my *happy place*???

I think what I love the most about creating a card is how I start off with one thing in mind and then as I start to play it takes on a life of its own an morphs into something completely different. This card did exactly that! My plan was to go down and play with my Chevron Punch. I was thinking I could make it into a Christmas tree .. and I still may ... one day ... but I left the punch upstairs after photographing it yesterday ... and I was too lazy to go upstairs to get it *lol*. No worries ... I had a room FULL of toys I wanted to play with. I headed to my new Designer Paper Packs that are in the Holiday Mini. I decided I was going to actually CUT one of the sheets and use it BEFORE it retired!! So that's what I did. I was then playing around with circle punches to make a quick, clean, simple card that I could use as part of a kit to offer my customers. Ya. No. The more I played the more I grabbed different things and after an hour this little beauty is what emerged:

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!! Since I'm short on time I won't even begin to tell you all the different color combinations I tried out .. suffice it to say my desk is a DISASTER *lol*. Here's what I DID use: The base is Whisper White. I have a 1/2" x 4 1/2" strip of Always Artichoke card stock, a 3 1/2" x 2 1/2" layer of Early Espresso and a 2 1/2" x 3 1/4" piece of the DSP from the Season of Style Paper Stack (page 22 of the mini - $8.50). What is GREAT about this particular layer size is that it exactly 1/4" of a sheet of the DSP ... VERY economical and I can use this card for my upcoming Stamp-a-Stacks!! The sentiment is stamped in the Gold Metallic Encore Pad (mini - page 28; $12.95) and the sentiment itself is from the Christmas Messages set - mini page 34; $25.95 clear; $35.95 wood. As you well know, I'm all about font ... and I LOVE the size and font of this Deck the Halls!! The mosaics are from Mosaic Madness (main catty page123; $22.95 clear; $32.95 wood) and punched out with the new Mosaci Punch (page 180 $21.95). I stamped the top mosaic with the Gold Metallic ink and the lowest mosaic with ALways Artichoke. The middle mosaic is punched out from the Brushed Gold card stock. I was absolutely GIDDY when I stumled across this card stock in my stash AND that it was still available!! Check it out on page 156 of the catty - $9.95. I added small rhinestones to each of the mosaics. The little holly image is from Cheers to You ... NOOOOOOOOO !!! It's retired??!! Boo! I was once again giddy that I found the *perfect* image to finish the card off. Oh. Now I am sad :( Well ... hopefully you have this set ... and hopefully I'll get over this crushing blow. Sigh. Stamping certainly has it's highs and lows ... ok Tam ... dig deep ... focus and finish the *recipe* .... right ... I stamped the image in Always Artichoke and added a little Cherry Cobbler Candy Dot for the berry. That little details perks me up a little :)

OK! Looking at the card again has cheered me up so I can carry on. Now I must go pack :) Until next time ... have a stampy night!

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Well .... we didn't end up making it to the park today after all. I *popped* downstairs around 8:45 am to whip up some quick and easy Thank You cards for my club girls' bags. Ya. I came back up at 12:56 pm *lol*. I had PLANNED to go out, really I did! ... of course by 12:56 it had completely clouded over and was starting to spit rain. Oh well! That gave me time to photograph my cards ... oh ... nope ... the battery on my camera died ... had to recharge it ... yep - that's how the day ends up being around here - a whoooole lotta nuthin; *lol* ... good thing it's summer break and we have no particular place to be!

I had a LOT of fun making these little cards. They COULD be quick and easy ... but apparently I wasn't in the Q&E *zone* this morning. Oh I started OFF with quick and easy ... and ended up with lots of layers doo-dads and embelishments. BUT! .... the great thing about THAT is I now have FOUR cards to share ... each one slightly more "stepped-up" than the previous one. It just goes to show that you don't HAVE to own every gadget, ink color and embellishment in the catalogues ... but it can be a LOTTA fun if you do :)

So! Here is my first attempt - it is truly quick and easy:

Ta da! See? I CAN do quick and easy ... I just generally choose not too :)

Let's disect it, shall we? OK. I started off with the Note Card & Envelopes that were in the last catalogue and are now retired. Little did I know they simply revamped them ... and they ARE available in the new catalogue (good thing I stocked up and bought 7 packages, huh?). This is one item I just HAVE to have in my craft stash at all times for card making emergencies like today. I needed to whip up 20 thank you cards and didn't want to spend time and energy cutting paper. Note cards and envelopes to the rescue! You get 20 bases and envelopes per pack ... for only $7.50! Check them out on page 162 of the main catalogue and then let me know how many packs you want (see what I did there? I made a "call to action" ... a statement leading customers to act ... apparently I will now make a million dollars by using such a statement - woo hoo! That's business school stuff they taught me way back when ... *note to self: let Dad know that all that education didn't go to waste ... )

Focus, Tam. OK ... breathe out ... Note Cards and envelopes. Got it. Colors! The colors I used were Coastal Cabana and Strawberry Slush ... two of the 2013-2015 In Color colors ... Did you know you can get the full pack of In Color papers and ink pads for only $36.95?? Yep. True story. Essentially by buying all the ink pads you get the assorted 8 1/2" x 11" card stock for free! Who doesn't like free?? And you KNOW you want all of the yummy new colors, right? So ... when you e-mail me with your order for your note cards and envelopes make sure you also mention to add the Cardstock & Pad kit o page 141 of the catty (see what I did there again? Sneaky yes? OK - perhaps not very subtle ... I'll work on it!)

Now! I can hear you from hear "TAMARA! How on EARTH did you get that GORGEOUS Chevron pattern along the side?" Well! Let me tell you. I purchased the new Chevron Border Punch on page 23 of the Holiday Mini catalogue (on-line August 1st) for the low low price of $29.95 and punched it out! Now I know ... $29.95 is about the same price of a nice shoes on sale. I agree! ... and I held off on buying this little beauty for a whole month before I caved. Let me tell you. You should just cave right away on August 1st and get it. It's fantastic! ... and it won't give you blisters on your feet! Now! The punch itself only has THREE chevrons ... but those who are very observant will notice that my card has FOUR punched out. Shall I share a tip on how to do that? OK. I know it's not rocket science but there ARE some new stampers in blog-world who may not know how ... AND I DID find out a little something about this punch in particular. So here we go.

First off - the Coastal Cabana layer is cut to 4 3/4" x 2 1/2". In order for me to get the chevrons high enough to leave room for the Thank You sentiment I lined the card stock up with the edge of the punch *window* like this:

Then you punch. In order to get the fourth chevron you simply move the card stock over so that the *teeth* are re-punching two of the chevrons and the third *tooth* is punching a new chevron ... like this:

Then you punch. One thing I DID notice about this punch is that you DO have to be careful when lining the teeth up. It LOOKS like things are lined up but they may not be. It's not fidly but you just have to make sure the paper is as far down as it can go. This is what the teeth look like before I pushed it down just a little bit further:

It's not a huge deal but it will make your chevrons a little *scoo-whiff* if you aren't careful.

For the sentiment I stamped Thank You from Sassy Salutations, page 39 of the main catty - $21.95 clear; $28.95 wood - in Strawberry Slush. Yummy! I then punched it out with the Extra Large Oval punch (page 182 - $22.95). I punched another oval in Strawberry slush and taped them together, then popped the whole thing up on a dimensional. I punched out a Strawberry SLush Chevron and used my 2-way glue pen to attach it. A rhinestone finished it off. Wa-low! A quick and easy card. Of course I couldn't stop there. I wanted to step it up a bit. So I did ... ready?

The only change here is a 1" x 4 1/2" strip of Strawberry Slush DSP ... from the paper pack. I love how it cooredinates with the punch - little teeny tiny chevrons. Woo hoo! ... but I had the need to step it up some more ... so ...

The change here is a small strip of whisper white measuring 1/4" x 4 1/4". Yay for my new Stampin' Trimmer! It is WAY too hard to get such a thin strip using my old monster cutter - the trimmer makes it quick and easy (page 176 of the catty - $41.95. A MUST HAVE tool! I also added a second rhinestone to the top chevron and a strip of 3 beside the 1/4" whisper white strip. Ta da! a not-quite-as-quic-and-easy-card but not crazy over-the-top either!. Since this card is only 5" x 3 1/2" in size I thought I'd see what it looked like mounted on a standard card base, sized 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" inches ... aaaaaand ....

So which one is your favorite? I can't decide! Seeing them all side-by side I actually think I prefer the first two, leaning towards the second one as my favorite:

So there you have it ... four options for the same card. This is a great card to showcase at a party. Novice stampers can stick with the first version while more *seasoned* stampers can step it up and play with more paper and embellishments.

Looks like the clouds have lifted so I think we'll have a bite to eat and head out to the park after all. Until next time ... have a stampy night!

We're heading to the park shortly for a little fresh air. While the girls play I'm hoping to start working on my fall stamping schedule. It's crazy but I feel like July is already a write-off and I have to have all my little duckies in a row by mid-August so I can hit the fall running. It goes SOOOO fast once September 1st hits! Of course there is the *new* school routine and adjustment period and then it's a sprint up to October and Alicia's birthday. Weeks later it's my parents' 50th wedding anniversary, my brother comes to town, Halloween and then my Dad's birthday. That takes us to November and I'll be in the final stages of my crafting craziness before Christmas! It will be a blur of fundraisers, Technique classes. Stamp-a-stacks, parties and treats for the kids' friends. I NEED to buckle down and creat all my projects for Thanksgiving, Halloween and Christmas in the next 3 weeks! Eek! When I put it like that I better bust a move! I'll start by getting off the computer *lol*!

Today I wanted to show you some storage ideas that I've stumbled across from other blogs and Stampin' Connection ... the private website exclusive to Stampin' Up! Demonstrators. This is one MAJOR reason to become a demonstrator - you have access to hundreds of THOUSANDS of card, gift and scrapbooking ideas ... all with Stampin' Up! products. It's fantastic!

The first storage idea comes from fellow demonstrator Kimberly Barker. She so very generously posted printable pages that fit into the Stampin' Up! clear boxes ... which you can buy in the Clearance Rack, while supplies last!! You can order these directly through my on-line store at www.tamarabertram.stampinup.net - Item # 119105 - $7.50 plus s/h/gst and you get (4) cases. I would order at least 2 sets ... 1 set for your markers and a few to store your framelits. SO! Without further adeau ... I give you ... my new and improved Marker Storage Cases:

LOVE THEM!!! 11 markers can fit in each case. There are 10 colors in each color family so there is room for one duplicate (I have 3 reds, 3 blacks, 3 chocolate chips so I have an extra few cases just for the *extras*). Both In Color sets can also fit in one case. This is MUCH better than my *old* system which was just 5 dollar store pencil trays - one for each family. They took up a lot of shelf space and were always tipping. These are the cat's behind!! At a quick glance I can see which colors are in which cases (I'm still struggling to remember which colors moved to which family this year *lol*) and they stack nicely in my DVD stand. LOVE LOVE LOVE! Kimberly ALSO provided printables for ALL of the framelits!!! She must have spent HOURS and HOURS creating these documents - she's so generous in sharing them with everyone for free! I tried posting all of her hard work on my blog so you can access them too (as mentioned I found them on the exclusive website) ... but I can't figure out how ... so I can't post them! If anyone knows how to add a documents to blogger please let me know - but I found a goggle site that indicates you can only upload images, not files. Too bad ... I'd like to post them so anyone can access them anytime! You may be able to find these (or similar ones) on Splitcoast Stampers website ... I took a quick peek and they seem to have quite a few different postings. Of course if you are a member of my Trail Blazers Team, club member or customer drop me an e-mail and I'll send them to you (I'd offer this to everyone but I wouldn't have enough time to e-mail everyone!!)

My next storage idea was another one I stumbled across ... but I don't remember where! Pinterest maybe? I'm really not sure. Iwon't take credit for the idea ... although I'd love to ... it's a great idea! Here it is:

Ahhhhhhhh!!! Storage for all my finger daubers!!! These are also retired cases that Stampin' Up! is selling off in the Clearance Rack (again, accessible through my store website) while supplies last. Item # 134681 for a (10) pack of thes 8" x 5 1/4" boxes with dividers for $9.95 plus s/h/gst. It holds 42 daubers .... enough for all 40 of the colors in the main color families. Too bad it doesn't fit another 10 to hold the In Color daubers as well ... but heck ... you DO get 10 so I guess you could always start another box! I would suggest buying the 10 pack and sharing with your friends - it works out to about $1.00 per box - cheap, cheap, cheap!!!

Sooo ... since we are talking storage I figured I'd re-post the picture of how I store most of my framelits ... with magnetic sheets stuck to the wall with our sticky strip:

These are the ones I use the most ... I DO need to hang more sheets to handle my newest framelits - the circle and square ones ... and the Thinlits that I'll be ordering next week ;) .... the rest of the framleits are in the DVD cases I mentioned above. Again, Kimberly's printables will help me find the right set in a glance!

So that's it for today. I'm now going to see if I can figure out again how to post those printables! Wish me luck ... and have a stampy day!

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

I don't have long to *type* today ... we're off to swimming lessons in 20 minutes! Today is a *home* day as we needed to take the car in for servicing and have swimming lessons ... but yesterday we made it out to K Days. It was FUN .... but this Gal (and husband) sure felt the pain of walking, standing, waiting and standing some more ... for 5 hours! The girls had a ball, though so it was worth it. I figure I must be hormonal because for the first hour we were there I almost burst into tears everytime I saw Rebecca smile. I'm such a sap! ... it's just so awesome to see a true, bug, toothy smile from that beautiful little face. I think I've mentioned it before but if not ... Rebecca has some very deep anxieties regarding SO many things ... she is what I call an *old soul* and really struggles with crowd and being in public. She also worries about things that *may* happen and it has kept her from doing things in the past. I'm thrilled to say that I have been working VERY hard with her over the last year and she is making some GREAT progress (we've already been to 4 movies this summer and previously she had only been to 1 in about 3 years ... in fact she was bordering on a panic attack when she tried to go to the movies for a friend's birthday party). AAAAAAnyway - it just fills my heart with so much joy when I see her smile ... and when she shows her teeth (because of course she hates her teeth) I just well up. Craig thought I was a nut job as I fought back the tears watching them come out of the REALLY lame fun house *lol*. Yep - just call me Sappy!

Right - 15 minutes 'til departure ... on to my card for today! As it was a *home* day I really needed to get some *work* done ... and of course *work* involves crafting - yay for me!! I was ITVHING to play with my new toys that came yesterday - namely the new Wreath stamp from the holiday mini ... alas ... I had a squirrel moment and ended up with this:

I'd been eying up this set Giggle Greetings - page 29 of the main catty - $20.95 clear; $27.95 wood ... namely for the CAT image and saying. I held off (ya, for the big month *lol*) before I decided I had to have it! The plan was to use the cat image ... but ...

... I ended up with the cheese image. hee hee ... yes ... I need help :)

This card was SO quick and easy to make. I used Pear Pizzazz, Rich Razzleberry and Very Vanilla Card Stock. I stamped the image with Black Staz-on and then took my 3/4" and 1/2" circle punches and punched holes and had some fun. I also used my Scalled circle punch to take a *bite* out of the corner of the swiss cheese (at least that what it's SUPPOSED to look like!). I used a blender pen to shade the image with Pear Pizzazz, Rich Razzleberry and So Saffron ink. I added a large rhinestone to the corner for a little bling. That's it!

OK ... t-12 minutes ... gotta run ... but come back tomorrow when I'll share some AWESOME storage solutions with you. Until then ... have a stampy day ...

Sunday, July 21, 2013

As promised today I'm sharing my third Christmas card with you. It's very different than the last two ... I love the clean simple look of it:

Once again I started with a Whisper White base. This time I used a Pear Pizzazz mat. The sentiment is again from the new Joy to the World set from the holiday mini (page 24 - $20.95 clear; $26.95 wood) and stamped in Early Espresso. The writing is in Pear Pizzazz and is from the Background Bulders set found in the main catalogue, page 119; $20.95 clear; $27.95 wood. The centre ornaments is stamped in Cherry Cobbler with the Mosaic Madness stamp (page 123; $22.95 clear; $32.95 wood) then punched out with the Mosaic Punch - page 180; $21.95 and popped up with a dimensional. I added an Early Espresso Candy Dot to the centre for continuity (page 171; $7.95 per pack ... you GOTTA get these!!). The small ornaments are made with the Merry Mini Punch pack ... this items is not in the catalogue but was carried over from last year; $22.95 for the set of three (tree, ornament and star shapes).

That's it! Quick, clean and easy! I'm not sure what my next project will be ... Thankgsiving? Halloween? ... I dunno ... but pop back soon to see what I come up with. Until then ... have a stampy Sunday!

Saturday, July 20, 2013

OK ... I'll get right to it ... I'm hoping to hit the FREE 9:30 am movie in aid of the Alberta Flood Relief. There are few movies being shown this morning that are free ... and the popcorn is only $2 with 100% of the proceeds going to the charity. I'm in!

So! On to the card ...

Ta Da! Yep .... love it :) SO simple but SO pretty! The colors are Whisper White, Pool Party and Chocolate Chip. The sentiment is from a new set in the Holiday Mini catalogue - Joy to the World - page 24; $20.95 clear; $26.95 wood. The fabulous snowflake is made using the new Festive Flurry set (page 30 - $36.95 clear; $48.95) and the coordinating framelits (page 30 - $30.95) .... BUT WAIT! If you order the two items together you save 15% and the total cost is only $57.95 clear; $67.95. Yes .... it's a big ticket items but they are truly two *toys* that will get a LOT of use!. Right. So - I stamped the snowflake in Pool Party and punched it out with the framelit ... and popped it up with some dimensionals. I then colored some spots with my Chocolate Chip Marker ... and then added a jumbo rhinestone to the centre. A strip of 2" x 5" + 2 ticks Chocolate Chip card stock adds a little punch of brown to bring it all together.

Yep. Love it!

Come back tomorrow to see a completely different look from yesterday's and today's posts ... it's another Christmas card. Until then ... have a stampy day :)

Friday, July 19, 2013

As I'm posting this I'm watching the Opening Session of the Stampin' Up! Convention. This year is their 25th Anniversary and it looks like an AWESOME time! I'm sad I'm not there but it's great being able to see some of the excitement on YouTube live. This company truly is amazing in so many ways ... I just love Shelli and her company, and am so proud to be a part of it. The theme this year is "Be the Difference". Fabulous. Stampin' Up! DOES make a difference. Being a demonstrator has made a huge difference in my life, and that of my family.

Alright - enough of that - I'm welling up (they are running a clip on sick children regarding their Ronald McDonald House efforts!)

OK ... Woo Hoo! Bring on the weekend! As of 4:00 pm Craig is officially on holidays for two weeks - I can't wait! I LOVE when he is home. I know some women dread when their husbands are home and "under foot" but Craig is so awesome it's more like I'M the one on holidays! He does so much house work, all the yard work and usually does the cooking (ok, BBQing) and I just get to have fun! We have a few day trips planned so I'm not sure how much stamping I'll get done ... but DON'T PANIC! As I mentioned in my last post my goal was to spend yesterday in my craft room and that's exactly what I did! I came up with THREE Christmas cards that I love and will post those over the next 3 days.

SO! First up is a card that was inspired by fellow Canadian Demonstrator Jackie Topa. You can check out her fabulous work (much or it punch art!) at Addicted to Stamping at www.jackietopa.typepad.com - she does amazing work! Here is what she inspired me to make:

LOVE it!!! Isn't it fun!!?? For colors I used Whisper White, Island Indigo (can't get enough of this color!!) and Real Red and Early Espresso. Oh - I also used some Smoky Slate for the toppers of the balls. I don't think you can see it in the picture but background is embossed with the new Stylish Stripes Embossing Folder from the new Holiday Mini - page 22, $9.95 (available August 1st). The greeting is from another Holiday Mini set called Joy to the World - page 24 for $203.95 clear; $26.95 wood. The balls are actually very clever - they were made by stamping the hot air balloon from the You're Amazing set in the main catalogue - page 15 - $27.95 clear; $37.95 wood - and then punched out with the 1 3/8" circle punch (page 182 $21.95. (I stamped Real Red ink on Real Red card stock and Island Indigo ink on Island Indigo card stock)

I made the little ball toppers with the Merry Mini Punch Pack ornament punch (it isn't shown in the catalogue but they have been carried over - $22.95 for the set of 3). I punched the ornaments out of Smoky Slate and snipped of the top like this:

... and then taped them to the back of the ball. For the loops I just used my silver marker (again, carried over but not shown ... I think they are $4.50 but don't quote me ...) freehand.

I LOVE the color combination and retro feel of this card. Love love LOVE it! Thanks again Jackie for the inspiration!!

Pop in again tomorrow to see another clean and simple card that just pops! Until then ... have a stampy Friday!

Thursday, July 18, 2013

It's smokin' hot outside today so I'm hiding out in my craft room. I'm just ITCHING to make a Christmas card!!! Yes, nothing says summer like having it +30 out and thinking cold and snowy *lol*

Today's video shows us how to stamp on fabric. This is an AWESOME idea for a hostess gift for Thanksgiving dinner! ... of course you can make it for ANY occasion but I LOVE this stamp set and the fall colors. Check it out!

Right ... back to my cave to cool off! Pop in again soon to see what I came up with today - until then - have a stampy day :)

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Despite me *needing* some stamping time tonight I didn't quite make it downstairs. It was a full day of cleaning, spray parks, play dates and paperwork ... tomorrow! Tomorrow I WILL stamp ... or somebody may get hurt *lol*. In the meantime ... I've been wanting to post some videos for you for a loooooong time. I just never quite seem to *get around to it*. Well ... how about now? Stampin' Up constantly posts YouTube videos on products and techniques and I find them fun as well as informative. I thought I'd post some of them tonight for you to enjoy ... oh! And did you know Stampin' Up! posts viedos on their website? The do! These ones get e-mailed to me but you can also check them (and others) out on the main website ... www. stampinup.com ... so the next time you need some inspiration while munching on your Cheerios check out the website.

Here is one to get you started (it's taken me over an hour to figure out how to post this ... my hope was to post 4 or 5 at once. Ya. Not gunna happen. One at a time is what you get until I can master this procees!!!)

First up is a video showcasing the new Simply Pressed Clay & Buttons and Blossoms mold. I recently watched another video showing how to use TOILET PAPER instead of the clay ... I'm going to have to give THAT a try (and just maybe I can figure out how to post THAT video *lol*)

Here we go ...

Fun! I made these once but I'm going to have to try popping them in the freezer for a few minutes to master the button mold. Mine got mangled trying to get them out of the mold!

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Not much to report today. It's been a full week of movies, bowling, parks and playdates. I tell ya, this summer break is relly cutting into my crafting time *lol*. I had Technique Class last week and have slowly been chipping away at making the extra templates. Today's card is CASEd from one of my ladies who attended class - thanks Corina! I love what you came up with!

We did the Painter's Technique (my new all-time favorite technique!!!). The ladies had an option of making this card:

... or this card ...

Corina's husband loves hunting and so she combined the two and came up with this:

Love it!! She used the color scheme from the masculine card (Sahara Sand, Crumb Cake and Chocolate Chip on Whisper White card stock) with the stamp set from the first card - Wetlands - and came up with a great masculine birthday card.

Have you tried this technique yet? It really is fun ... and easy ... and you just can't go wrong with it! There is no rhyme or reason to it ... you just splotch the colors wherever you feel like it ... and it turns out great (and different!) every time! I can't wait to try this technique with some of my new Christmas toys that just arrived (from the new holiday mini that goes *live* August 1st). Stay tuned for those in the near future! Until then ... have a stampy night!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Ahhhh ... finally a *down* day ... one with no particular plans ... and it's cloudy and a little rainy ... a great chance to get caught up on some of those niggling little things on my *to-do* list. Whilst the girls seem to be able to function just fine now that school is out I'm struggling a bit to find any sort of rythym (I THINK that's how you spell rythym ... I checked with my 10-year-old ... we think it's right *lol*). If/when the girls sleep in I have to be quiet as a mouse so I don't wake them (Rebecca will wake up at the slightest noise!). Being quiet is NOT my forte ... and it keeps me from getting anything productive done! What it DOES let me do is craft! Since my craft room is in the basement ... and since it's a QUIET *task* I can stamp for a while before anyone is vertical. That's what I did today. I have one card that I *love* and one that is ... *meh* ... it's ok ... but isn't what I was aiming for and doesn't blow my hair back! So let's start with that one first, shall we?

I started this one last night ... but my mojo was stuck and I walked away. I was trying to get inspiration from the yummy new DSP "Modern Medley" - page 154 - $13.50 (but at the moment all of the $13.50 DSP's are buy 3 get one free!!)

I particularly like the striped sheet ... so I cut a 1 1/2" strip of that and layed it on a Very Vanilla base. And then I sat. And stared. And turned it sideways. And turned it back. And sat. And stared. And grabbed a few stamp sets and black ink. And sat. And stared. And sat. And sat. And sat. And gave up. It just wasn't happenin'.

This morning I went down to play and it kept niggling at me. I tried again. To make an all-ready-too-long-story shorter I ended up with this:

I say again ... *meh*. I think some of the circles need to be bigger but I couldn't be bothered to play with it anymore. It just wasn't coming together easily ... like back in high-school when you were trying to write that opening paragraph for your paper and it was disjointed and awkward ... same thing here ... I'll try again another day but today wasn't the day. The recipe for this one ... I used a Very Vanilla base and a 3/4" strip of Basic Black card stock. The sentiment uses one stamp from "Cycle Celebration" - page 10; $20.95 clear; $26.95 - stamped in Black Staz-on and was punched out with the Decorative Label Punch (page 181; $22.95). I then stamped "Happy Birthday" in Real Red from the hostess set "Express Yourself" - page 205, and punched it out with the Large Oval punch - page 182; $21.95 and popped it up on a dimensional. The black striped circles use the Modern Medley DSP and the red ones were made by stamping one of the images from the Six-Sided Sampler set - page 125; $22.95 clear; $32.95 wood in Real Red and punching it out. I used the 1", 3/4" and 1/2" circle punches. The little dots are candy dots but can also be made using your Crop-a-dile. So there you have it ... and card that I don't really like that tooks way too long. So let's move swiftly along to a card that I DO like! It too took longer than it should have. I think I'm too tired for quick and easy stamping this week. While it took too long I really like how it turned out! Her it is:

Ta da! I'm not sure if this can be used as a masculine card or not ... I suspect the swirls on the sentiment would kick it into the reject pile in Craig's opinion ... of course you *could* use markers to ink the sentiment without the swirls ... but that just adds time to the process so I left them :) It actuallu IS a very simple card. It uses only Very Vanilla and Baked Brown Suger for the card stock and ink. The background is made with the clean and simple (but very *guyish* stamp) "Off the Grid" - page 108 - only $14.95 (it only comes is wood). The sentiment is from "You're Amazing" - page 15; $27.95 clear; $37.95 wood. I stamped it in Baked Brown Sugar on a scrap piece of VV card stock and used my fingers to tear around it. I then used a finger dauber to sponge the edges with Baked Brown Sugar. It was a good and quick start ... and then I started to struggle. Keeping it simple is HARD! I had a piece of burlap that I was playing around with but a) it wasn't Stampin' Up! product and b) I just couldn't make it work. My Stampin' Up! burlap ribbon should be arriving any day now (yes, if you don't have the new holiday mini there IS some yummy new burlap ribbon it it!!!) ... so I aborted that aspect. I then spotted my "Clockworks" stamp set and knew I had it! (Page 109 - $21.95 clear; $28.95 wood). This set is a must have! It's a *keeper* set that can be used for masculine cards for SURE! Since my set is in clear-mount I simply grabbed the three cog stamps and placed them directly on my card to see where I wanted them stamped ... once I had the configuration I liked I grabbed my clear Block "D" - page 196; $11.50 - and pressed the block down on top of all 3 stamps at once. Then I stamped all 3 images in the Baked Brown Sugar ink and stamped it on my card. Wa-low! Stamped exactly where I wanted them ... and I could now mass-produce the card with the exact same placement every time. Clever, yes? The card still needed something ... I turned to my Stack-and-Store Caddy that houses all of my buttons, brads and so on. I spied the retired Spinner Hands. That was it! While these are retired, I could justify using them because just yesterday I spotted them on the Clearance Rack ... for $.99!!! Of course at THAT price I needed to order a bunch ... but then stopped myself ... once AGAIN I realized I HAD these in my craft room ... but I had never actually USED THEM!!! ARGH! I seriously think I need some sort of intervention. Seriously! I never want to USE these products as I usually don't have enough for one of my classes ... so they sit ... and they only see the light of day once they are retired! Well ... if you've been following my posts for the last month or so you'll know that I'm SLOWLY trying to rectify this problem and HAVE been using my new products (I still need to start using my DSP's ... little steps ... it's all about those little steps *lol*). ANYwaaaaaay - back to the card. I added the spinner hand and two other brads to the cogs ... I also added a small strip of the 7/16" Trim along the bottim corner. Before I added it I used my dauber to add a little Baked Brown Sugar ink to it just to darken it a little. PErfect! The edges are slightly frayed to make it a little more grungy. Yep! This one I like - fairly quick and easy, uses one ink color and can be used for a guy card. Ticks off most of hte boxes in my list for a successful card!

Right ... my stomach is growling so it must be lunch time. Pop in again soon. Until then ... have a stampy day!

Monday, July 8, 2013

Monday's don't hold the same *ahhhh* as they do when school is in ... but today is going to be a great day nonetheless. Yes, the girls are home, but so is Craig ... and that means the girls are going over to Mom's for a *play date* while My Love takes me for lunch. Yay for me!

We had a lovely weekend. I'm starting to get the hang of relaxing ... at least a little bit! When Craig is home I'm off cooking duty so the days seem to be a lot longer and run a lot smoother. Planning dinner always takes a lot of time out of my day! Yesterday the girls and I went to "Pets in the Park" and wandered around Hawrelak Park. There were so many different dogs there ... and snakes, rabbits, cats and ferrets! It was fun! After a lovely BBQ dinner I headed down to the craft room to make this tutorial for you. So, without further adeau I give you my Painter's Tape Cards:

Weeeee! LOVE it! Once I started I couldn't stop ... so I didn't ... I love this color combination of Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango and Coastal Cabana (and the sentiment is Early Espresso). The cheeky little sentiment is from "Really Good Greetings" - page 38; $17.95 clear; $22.95 wood.

Here is my second card:

Yay!!! .... this card uses the "Wetlands" set, page 69; $20.95 clear; $26.95 wood. I toyed with a few other color combinations but fell back on the same one to make my third card:

The sentiment for this one is "Feels Good" - page 25; $22.95 clear; $31.95 wood. I then thought I would try a Sympathy card using grays and black ... but it turned out kaka-pooey .. so I tried browns ... but couldn't find a sentiment that worked ... and it morphed into a GREAT masculine birthday card:

LOVE LOVE LOVE this one!!! The colors are Saraha Sand, Crumb Cake and Chocolate Chip (on a whisper white base). The mat is Chocolate Chip. The HBD are from Morning Post Alphabet - page 131; $42.95 clear; $57.95 wood and the Happy Birthday banner is the hostess set"Banner Greetings - page 202; $10 hostess dollars clear; $12 Hostess dollars wood. The letters and sentiments are stamped in Chocolate Chip and the banner was cut out and popped up on a dimensional. It was "Craig approved" as great guy card :)

Now! For the tutorial on how to get the background. It's sooo easy! ... a little messy, but easy! ... and let's face it, the messier it is the more fun it is, right?

So! First off you need Painter's tape (because it is low tack ... is that how you spell tack? Or is it tac? Hmmm ... note to self to ask Dad how to spell tack ... or tac ... squirrel!). You can also use masking tape but I didn't have any around and this worked just fine! Tear off a little piece and press it into your ink pad:

Try not to get too much of it on your fingers! The first card I made ended up with a lot of inky smudges on it! Lift the tape up and "tape it off" onto your scrap paper so it isn't so inky:

Lift it off the paper (it won't stick due to the low tac(k?) and tape it to your card stock:

Ta da!

﻿

If your image isn't as dark as you want it (due to the "tape-it-off" step) just do it again! The look you are going for is grunge anyway and even if you don't get the tape right on top of your first image it looks fine! That's what I had to do above!
Then do the same in your other colors with fresh strips of tape (I used a Sharpie to write the color on the strips of tape so I could re-use them ... the tape isn't cheap ... we need to recycle!):

This is how the tape looks after I "taped-it-off" on my scrap paper. Not TOO inky but enough to leave an image. (Good thing I have freakishly long fingers *lol*)

LOVE it! Once you have your background you grab whatever sentiment that floats your boat and wa-low! A quick, easy, one-of-a-kind card!

Fun, yes? Yes! My kind of technique! Now go raid your husband's workshop for some tape and give it a try! It's addictive, as you can see!

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE stamping?? I don't think I've mentioned it for a few weeks! ... I just gotta say ... I LOVE STAMPING!!! Last night I did some comfort stamping ... a nice change from comfort EATING, I must say!!! I'd had a lovely day with the girls, but I was *spent* and needed some *down time* ... so down I went ... to the craft zone! I wanted to make some quick, easy and yummy cards ... I just needed to unwind ... and I totally nailed it! While I absolutely enjoyed the 2-3 hours I spent creating my mom's birthday card from my last post I did NOT want to spend that amount of time on a card this round! I sat down wanting something bright, cheery, clean and simple. I nailed it! I ended up with three great cards in UNDER AN HOUR! I tell ya it was better than sex! I emerged a from my craft room all smiles and rejuvinated (whereas with sex you may be smiling but let's face it ... you usually just want to curl up and go to sleep afterward *lol*) Right! Enough of THAT kind of talk *lol* ... onto the first card I cracked off:

Ta Da! ... ok, apparently I should have worked on the lighting a little more ... the whisper white card stock looks blue! Oh well ... it's not blue - it's white - now you know :)

Does it GET any easier than this? When I started out I wanted the sentiment in blue ... and I had 3 swings at it ... Island Indigo, Pacific Point, Bermuda Bay ... none of them made me happy. I tried the blossom in Crushed Curry. Nope - didn't float my boat. I tried the background in Rasberry Ripple. Uh uh. Too flat. In the end my combo was Daffodil Delight, Real Red and Basic Black. Yep ... that made me smile! The sets used were Betsy's Blossom (page 87; $26.95 cl; $35.95 w). Haven't used THAT one in a year!!! The sentiment is from Million in One - page 63; $15.95 cl; $20.95 w) it's new this year and I had to have it (you KNOW my love for fancy fonts!!) If you look closely you'll see that I paper pierced the top left of the blossom. I used the "Essentials" piercing template - page 179; $10.95. Paper piercing really does add that *little* something when a full-on embellishment is just too much. I like it! I also added 3 different sizes of rhinestones - 2 from the standard pack and one jumbo rhinestones. That's it! Done! It takes about 4 minutes from start to finish!

Pop in again tomorrow when I'll show two great cards I made using painter's tape, thanks to a tutorial I saw from Bette on Split Coast Stampers last week. LOVE it ... and it's the technique we'll be doing in class on Friday. Until then ... have a stampy Sunday!!!

Friday, July 5, 2013

MAN where did the day go ... or the week for that matter! It's been a blur of no-schedule-what-so-ever, playdates, waterslides and sprayparks! Today I was DETERMINED to clean the house ... alas the beautiful weather beckoned and off to the spray park we went ... again! I finally finished my cleaning at 7:00 pm!! Oh well ... it will all get done eventually, right? Heck, here in Alberta we have 6 months of winter to clean house *lol*

Sooo ... it was technically bedtime for the girls 2 minutes ago but since they are still outside playing I guess THAT schedule is in the bin as well ... and that buys me a few minutes to post a card I made Tuesday. Yes ... it was my mom's 72nd birthday on Tuesday so I figured I better make her a card! Lucky for me she was busy and we weren't going to see her until Wednesday ... buying me more time to design something really special.

I love when I get to create a card for some one in particular. Generic cards are nice but when it's for one person thw cards really are easier for me mentally. My mom is a perfect example. She loves vintage. Her house is full of old furniture and nic-nacs from days gone by. She has the old gramaphone, spinning wheel, pots, soap boxes, wash boards .. all sorts of treasures she has found at antique sales over the years. Naturally I had to make her a "vintage"card. The card took me about 2 hours to design. I took my time and really enjoyed searchig through my papers, sets, inks an embellishments to find just what I wanted. I really like how it turned out. Here it is:

There are so many different little elements involved in this one. Let me break it down for you. I started with a piece of Very Vanilla cs for the base and made my own background using Sahara Sand with the new "Dictionary" stamp (page 100 - $16.95 clear; $21.95 wood) and the new "Off the Grid" set (page 108 $14.95 wood). I also added a few splotches from the "Gorgeous Grunge" set (page 109 - $21.95 clear; $30.95 wood) in Pink Pirouette. I even added a little touch of the "Very Vintage" wheel (page 104 - $10.50) here and there. I distressed the edges with the distress tool (- page 157 - $6.95) and then used a finger dauber and inked the edges with Baked Brown Sugar.

The I got out my Tea Lace Doilies - page 156 - $3.95. I inked one doilie with Sahara Sand ink ... and then heat set it so it would dry faster. The doilies don't absorb the ink very quickly, as they are slightly shiny so this sped things up a lot! The second doilie I sponged with Very Vanilla Craft Ink. It didn't change the color a LOT but just enough so that it wasn't bright white. I stamped the sentiment, from "From My Heart" - page 99 - $35.95 clear; $48.95 wood in Baked Brown Sugar and used my retired corner rounder on the corners (the retired rounder is a deeper "round" than the current one). When I adhered the doilies down I added a small strip of Baked Brown Sugar 3/8" Ruffle Stretch Trim for a little color contrast - I really like how it added to the texture. This ribbon is FABULOUS!! (page 173 - $12.50 per roll). I popped the sentiment up on dimensionals. Oh! A little trick I used for the sentiment ... I didn't want to add the "James Taylor" that is along the bottom of the stamp ... so ... I grabbned a little piece of Washi Tape ... taped it onto the stamp ... inked the stamp and then REMOVED the washi tape and then stamped the image ... like this:

Along the bottom of the card I added 3 flowers from the flower trim that was in the last (retired) catalogue. Yes, once again I never actually USED this product until it was retired (oh I TRIED a number of times but it never quite made it!) I lightly sponged the flowers with Baked Brown Sugar and a little PInk Pirouette in the centre. The highlight of the card is the butterfly. I squealed when I made this little guy!!! It's made from 6 layers of the Creped Filter Paper (page 156 - $3.95). Again ... HAD it since January but it's never made it on a card until now!!! I inked my butterfly from Papillon Potpouri )page 90 - $17.9 clear; $22.95 wood) in the new Smoky Slate ink. I stamped it off on scrap paper TWICE to make it REALLY faint, and then stamped it on the crepe filter paper:

See? VERY faint! I then layered the crepe paper two thick and punched it out with the Elegant Butterfly punch (page 183 - $21.95). You CAN punch a single layer but you almost always lose the little bottom tip of his wings (I'm sure those have a name but I certainly don't know what it is! *lol*). I stacked the 6 butterflies together, pierced a hole in the middle and added a brad. I used a silver one I had. I then added a Pink Pirouette Candy Dot on top. Now. You may wonder why the heck I didn't use the Candy Dot BASE that are meant to GO with the candy dots, rather than using a regular brad. I wondered the same thing as I was taking a picture of the finished card. It just didn't occure to me! *lol* When I made it I first made the card I didn't have any pink on it ... it was after-the-fact that Rebeccas said "I don't mean to hurt your feelings but ... umm ... maybe it should have a little color on it" that I added the Pink Pirouette splotches, color to the flowers and the pink candy dot. She was SO RIGHT!! The pink pirouette TOTALLY added to the card and was the perfect soft shade of vintage pink to add a little interest ... so I added the dot to the brad totally forgetting that the candy dot base would have worked a LOT better *Lol* ... oh well ... next time! Oh! ... and I added 2 more candy dots to the sides of the sentiment.

I gave the card to mom and yes, she loved it. It took a long time to make but it was very relaxing and enjoyable ... of course then there was the mess to clean up afterwards:

About Me

Hello!
I am a SAHM to two GREAT kids, a wife to a GREAT man and a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator living in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I LOVE all things crafty and I absolutely LOVE what I do! Please know that the content in this blog is my sole respoinsibility as an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and the use of and content of this blog is not endorsed by Stampin' Up!
Thank you for popping in - I hope you find a project you like and leave inspired!